


All we know

by Enj0ltaiRe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, BAMF Mike, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Breaking The Rules, But what's new about that, F/M, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Hogwarts Houses, Hogwarts Seventh Year, I mean it's been slowly burning for seven years but still, M/M, Quidditch, Richie Tozier Has ADHD, Richie's parents are not nice, Slow Burn, THEY'RE DORKS, Wizarding World, a lot of fists bumping, bill and eddie are besties, but you'll be warned, did I mention slow burn?, georgie is smol, not sexual violence tho, probably there will be descriptions of violence, richie and bev are besties as well, sneaking in each other' dorm, so they're 17, sonia kaspbrak gives me anxiety, spooky stuff, the rating might change, they're the friends I wish I had
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-02-14 21:16:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13016295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enj0ltaiRe/pseuds/Enj0ltaiRe
Summary: Getting on the Hogwarts Express was the thing Eddie looked forward to the most during his summers. September the 1st had been his favorite day since he was eleven years old, and nothing had changed that over the years.September the 1st meant Hogwarts. It meant friends and classes. It meant he got to sleep again in his cozy, warm bed in the Hufflepuff dormitory instead of bleach smelling sheets and it meant getting away from home.





	1. Chapter one

There was something oddly familiar in the smell of the train’s vapor, Eddie realized as he walked down the Hogwarts Express’ corridor. If he turned his head and glanced outside the window, he _knew_ that he could have spotted his mother in the crowd, waving her arms (and probably elbowing anyone near her) and yelling some reminder about the pills being in the suitcase. But Eddie wasn’t turning his head, and he kept walking fast, praying for the train to leave soon.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t grateful to his mother for all the things she did for him, such as paying for his school supplies and send him treats from home every now and then, it was just that he was about to start his seventh and last year at Hogwarts, and the first years’ parents weren’t nearly as apprehensive and excited as his mom was.

It was embarrassing, and Eddie wasn’t having any of it. Not on his last first day, anyway. He was  17, for Merlin’ sake.

_“Did you take your pills, Eddie-Bear? You know how dusty the library is! And your allergy might get pretty serious. Did you remember to pack your inhaler?”_  
_“Yes, mom.”_  
_“What about your Remembrall? So you’ll never forget to take your medications.”_  
_“Yes, mom.”_  
_“You’ll write to me, won’t you, Eddie? You wouldn’t forget about your mommy, right?”_  
_“No, mom.”_  
_“Will you be careful? You always need to be safe, Eddie. Do you promise you’ll always be safe?”_  
_“Yes, mom.”_  
_“You’re such a good boy, Eddie-Bear. Come give mommy a kiss.”_

There was objectively nothing wrong about the whole dialogue.

Except that it was entertained five minutes before. In the middle of the platform. In front of everyone.

And of course, Mrs Kaspbrak knew nothing about keeping her voice down.

Getting on the Hogwarts Express was the thing Eddie looked forward to the most during his summers. September the 1st had been his favorite day since he was eleven years old, and nothing had changed that over the years. September the 1st meant Hogwarts. It meant friends and classes. It meant he got to sleep again in his cozy, warm bed in the Hufflepuff dormitory instead of bleach smelling sheets and it meant getting away from home.  
Eddie loved his mother, he really did, but Sonia Kaspbrak knew how to make it hard for him. Eddie didn’t feel like he needed his inhaler when he was at school, but he used it on a regular basis when he was at home.  
His mom lived in a muggle neighborhood. She moved there with Eddie’s father, since they both believed it would have been a safer and quieter choice, and decided to stay there after he died. Soon enough, she started to blend herself perfectly among muggles. She almost had a breakdown when Eddie got his letter, too afraid that something could have happened to her little angel in the wizarding world.  
If it wasn’t for the self washing dishes in the morning, Eddie would have believed his mother had lost her powers over the years.

“Eddie-Bear! You’re such a good boy! Come give daddy a kiss!” Eddie stopped on his tracks as he heard _that_ voice. He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling tired already. When he opened them again, Richie Tozier’s head was popping out of a compartment.

Eddie prayed that he was being mistaking, but Richie seemed taller, which was honestly unfair, because he was already the tallest of the group and it was just inacceptable for him to keep growing like that. His hair, over the summer, had grown wilder and messier,  a splash of freckles still covered the boy’s nose and his front teeth were still a little too big, but that didn’t stop Richie from smiling from ear to ear. His eyes, as usual, looked way bigger behind his huge glasses.

“Shut your mouth, Tozier.” Eddie hissed. Of course Richie had listened to the whole conversation he had with his mother, because that was just Eddie’s luck.

“That’s it? You haven’t seen me in _months_ and that’s the first thing you want to say to your best friend?” Richie said, in mock shock.

“Bill’s my best friend.” Eddie reminded him, rolling his eyes and walking past him into the compartment.

Richie brought his hands to his heard and bent in two, whining and moaning in pain.

“For fuck’s sake, Richie, sit down and give us a break.” Stan scolded, leaning against the seat and sighing loudly. Eddie giggled and sat down next to him, and the two boys bumped their fists together as Richie sat in front of them, folding his arms on his chest.

“You are both so lovely today, aren’t you?” He launched his legs between them, and yes, Eddie could definitely tell that Richie was taller.

Eddie wrinkled his nose, but a smile was tugging the corner of his lips.

Of course he had missed Richie. He had missed every single one of his friends, obviously, but Richie was the loudest, hence the one you’d immediately notice if he was not around.  

Yes, Richie was loud and annoying and obnoxious and his jokes were honestly terrible, but they all loved him immensely.

“Am I particularly handsome today? Because you’re staring, Eds.” Richie said, smiling widely. Eddie’s eyes widened and his cheeks turned bright pink as he moved his attention to the window, pleased to see that the train had started moving.

“I wasn’t. And don’t call me that, I _hate_ it when you call me that. Eddie is already short for Edward. It doesn’t need to be shorter.”

“I don’t know, Eds, you’re pretty short yourself.” Richie said, laughing at his own joke, which only made Eddie roll his eyes and fold his arms on his chest.

“Your jokes are getting old.”

“Not as old as your mom.”

“That’s not even an insult! It’s a mere fact!”

“The fact that I bang your mom is a mere fact!”

At that point, Stan got up and left the compartment, which didn’t surprise neither of them. Richie was grinning, and Eddie, despite himself, was too.

As weird as it might have sounded, he had really fucking missed this. The bickering, the arguing, the awful jokes and the look of absolute joy that would lit up Richie’s eyes anytime he was getting attention. Things were already back to normal, and Eddie couldn’t have been more grateful for that.

“Watch your trash mouth, Trashmouth, or there might be a missing student when we get to the castle.” Eddie said, but his smile hadn’t vanished.

“You know, for a Hufflepuff, you’re rather hostile.” Richie said, gesturing towards the Hufflepuff’ patch on Eddie’s robes.

“You guys!” They both turned their heads at the same time, but Richie was the first one to get up, lifting Beverly Marsh off of the ground and spinning her around.

“Miss Marsh! Long time no see! How are you doing on this fine day?” Richie said happily, without putting her down. Beverly laughed lightly, wrapping her arms around Richie’s shoulders and planting a firm kiss on his lips.

Anyone who might have seen them, would have thought they were a couple. A power couple, actually. They were both gorgeous: Beverly, with her wonderful auburn hair and her green eyes, and Richie, tall and lanky and with amazing cheekbones. They were both Slytherins, which meant they spent a great amount of time together, and they both had a crude sense of humor and a tendency to ignore whatever rule was given.

But no, they weren’t a couple. That was common knowledge.

They had been best friends since the very first day at Hogwarts. Inseparable, actually.

“Let me down, you giant fuck. How fucking tall are you? Did your folks watered you overnights?” Beverly laughed, reaching up to ruffle his hair as he pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. “Hi, Eddie!” She said happily, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.

“Hi, Bev, did you have a nice summer?” Eddie asked cheerfully.

“Horrendous, thanks for asking.” She replied, just as cheerfully, as Richie and her flopped down on the seat at the same time. “How about you?”

Eddie shrugged and opened a pack of Skittles, which were always a great hit among those who weren’t used to muggle stuff. “Just as boring as usual, I guess. My mom still thinks I’m a fragile toddler, but what’s new about that? So yeah. Boring.”

“He missed me.” Richie said confidentially, elbowing her lightly and making her laugh and shake her head.

“Keep telling yourself that, Richie.” Eddie said, throwing a skittle at him and raising his eyebrows when the boy caught it with his mouth. Impressive.

“Uh-uh-hello guh-guys!” Bill, already in his Gryffindor uniform, was standing in the doorway, smiling at pointing to his left. “Any ruh-ruh-reason why S-Stan’s buh-banging his head ah-against the window?” He asked, amused, and Richie gestured vaguely with his hands.

“Leave him be, Billiam, he’s just being pissy.” He said, making room on his right. “Have a seat! Have a skittle! Why the hell took you so long to show up? Have your feet started stuttering as well?”

Bill couldn’t help but giggle, but he choose to sit by Eddie’s side. The two of them hugged each other and Richie rolled his eyes. Bill had been Eddie's best friend ever since they could remember. Bill's parents were muggles, and they lived just next door to Eddie's house. The boys had met each other while playing out in the garden, and they could barely believe their eyes when they both got their letters. Bill even more so, since his parents were muggles. Eddie, on the other hand, was kinda expecting it. Bill had been there when Eddie's dad died, Eddie had been there when Georgie was born and Bill had to learn how to be a proper big brother. 

“Bill’s got a hug and he barely said hello to me.” He muttered to Beverly, loud enough for Eddie to hear.

“Now who’s the one being pissy?” Eddie inquired, smiling smugly, hoping he wasn’t blushing.

“Anyway, I wuh-was with G-Georgie. It’s his fuh-first day. He is a bih-bih-bit nervous.” Bill explained shoving a fistful of skittles into his mouth. “He duh-doesn’t want to be a S-Slytherin buh-beacause I’m a Gh-Gryffindor.”  
  
Richie and Beverly eyed each other. They hated how people seemed to believe that nothing good could ever came from Slytherin. If you asked them, being sorted into Slytherin, had been the best thing that had ever happened to them. Both Richie and Beverly didn’t come from pleasant families, so finding a new one at school had been more than they could have ever asked for.

“Don’t worry, Bill, we’ll keep an eye on him if he’s sorted into Slytherin.” Beverly said, smiling at Bill, who smiled a grateful smile back. Everyone knew how much Bill loved and cared for his little brother and how much he missed him when he was away.

“Who’s gonna be sorted into Slytherin?” Mike Hanlon, already in his black and yellow Quidditch sweater, was smiling brightly. He had been working out over the summer, because, Eddie noticed, he was way more built up. Among  the boys in the group, Mike was probably the only one who already looked like more like a man and less like a boy.  “Bless their soul, anyway. Being in the same house as Richie. _Hellish_.” Mike joked, bumping his fists with the boys and high fiving Beverly.

“Ya’ll so nice to me today. I’m moved, I’m touched. Pour all that love on me.” Richie said, flipping them off, and they all laughed. 

Eddie could feel his heart feel up with joy as he watched at his friends: Beverly’s legs were thrown on Richie’s and her eyes were bright and slightly wrinkled at the sides from all the laughter; Mike was stealing some Skittles from the bag and talking to Bill, who was laughing and clapping his hands together. And Richie, of course, whose smile could have lighted up an entire city.

Eddie felt his heart skipping a beat when Richie met his gaze and winked playfully, but ignored it and stuck his tongue out at him.

“What did we miss?” Ben, who had grown taller as well over the summer, was grinning, but his gaze was fixed on Beverly. By his side, with a grumpy frown, was Stan, who sat down next to the window, greeting everyone who wasn’t in the compartment when he left.  

“Hello Ben, did you have a good summer?” Beverly grinned, shifting closer to Richie to make space for Ben next to her. Ben smiled back at her, slightly flushed on the cheeks, and sat down.

Here we go again, Eddie thought, eyeing between Beverly and Ben, wondering if they were going to get their shits together this year.

“Hey Ben, we’re going to beat your Ravenclaw’ asses on the field this year.” Mike teased. They had both been in the respective houses Quidditch teams since their second year. Ben was a beater, Mike was the chaser. It had became a bit of a tradition to go to every single Quidditch match together. Even if any of them were playing, they would go and root for their houses.

“Bitch, you wish.” Ben and Stanley replied at the same time.

“Yuh-you’re not even in the tuh-tuh-team, Stan.” Bill said, chuckling, and Stan shrugged.

“But I’m still a Ravenclaw. And I enjoy watching Quidditch so, of course, I root for my house.” Ben and Stan bumped their fists together and Mike shook his head lightly, giggling.

“This is gonna be a damn good year!” Richie shouted, cupping his mouth to make his voice louder. As if there was any need for that. “Almost as good as Eddie’s mom’ bl-“

“Shut up, Richie!”


	2. Chapter Two

“Hufflepuff!” The sorting hat shouted, and said house cheered. Eddie couldn’t keep himself from getting to his feet and clap loudly, smiling widely as Georgie Denbrough looked over at the Gryffindor table.

Bill was clapping as well, smiling encouragingly and nodding, and that seemed to give Georgie the courage he needed. He hopped down the stool and ran towards Eddie, with a big, nervous smile on his lips. Eddie loved Georgie like the little brother he never had, the same kind of love he felt towards Bill. They were family, and Eddie was so happy Georgie had been sorted into Hufflepuff.

“Congratulations, Georgie.” He said, ruffling his honey-ish hair.

The Sorting Ceremony had always been a cheerful moment. Eddie could still remember his very first day at Hogwarts, the thrill of the unknown, the excitement of being away from home, the fear of failure and of the wizarding germs.

His mom had told him everything about the wizarding germs.   
  
Sure, he had got to have Bill by his side on their first day, so they could be scared together until the Sorting Hat had decided that they belonged to different houses.

“Where can I sit, Eddie?” Georgie asked shyly, glancing at the much taller and older boys and girls around him.

“Right here next to me. This is Mike, you remember him?” Georgie nodded and Mike smiled at the little boy, who sat down between them as the Sorting Ceremony went on.

There were very little things Eddie disliked about Hogwarts, but nothing more than being forced to sit away from his group of friends during the main meals. Bill had a couple of friends among his Gryffindor housemates, of course he did: he was funny and polite and kind. Everyone liked Bill. Still, he was the only Loser (that’s how they decided their group was called) that sat at the Gryffindor table. He always said that he didn’t mind, that they could sit together at breakfast and that they were always together, anyway, but Eddie couldn’t help but feeling bad about it. He got to sit next to Mike, just like Stan and Ben did, or Richie and Bev.

Without even noticing, Eddie turned his head and looked over his shoulder, across the Ravenclaw table and searching for Richie between the Slytherins. He was talking, of course, because when the hell wasn’t he?, and the students around him were laughing. Eddie’s lips curved in a small smile as he looked at the way Richie seemed completely comfortable while sitting at his table. There were times Eddie wished he was a Slytherin so he could have been sitting there as well, listening to whatever stupid joke Richie had just cracked. Not that he would have ever admitted it. That was their thing, and it was okay just the way it was: they would bicker and argue and stick tongues at each other without telling, not even once, how much they loved the other’ company. The mere memory of Richie sneaking in the Hufflepuff dorm in the middle of the night for the first time, back in their first year, made Eddie’s cheeks heat up and the smile grow wider on his lips.

“Eddie? You okay?” Mike snapped him out of his thoughts, and Eddie noticed that the Ceremony had ended and that every table and plate had been filled up with food. The boy nodded with a kind smile and reached for the mushed potatoes and the chicken thighs, feeling his mouth water from the delicious smell alone. His mother wasn’t really keen on cooking, actually, she had a huge stash of pre-cooked meals that only needed to be unwrapped and be heated up in the microwave.

By the end of the meal, Georgie had already befriended a couple of first years who had been sorted into Hufflepuff and that were sitting across of him, and that relieved Eddie immensely. He remembered  how it felt to be sitting at a table of strangers and feeling lost and lonely, so when the prefects stood up to lead the kids to the dorm and Georgie immediately paired up with a boy with ginger-ish hair, he looked over at Bill and gave him thumbs up. Bill kept his gaze on Georgie and  raised his hand when his little brother waved at him, with a relieved expression on his face.

“I think Georgie’s gonna be fine.” Eddie said casually, taking a sip of pumpkin juice and watching as Mike nodded with a mouthful of vanilla pudding.

“No doubt. He’s a nice kid.” The chaser agreed.

The Great Hall, after every single first year student had left the room, grew a lot quieter. Stan had left as well, because, as the Head boy, he wanted to gather the Ravenclaw’s new students in their common room and give a little speech to encourage them.

_“Head boy, uh? Isn’t that a bit cheeky?” Richie said, wiggling his eyebrows, and Stan rolled his eyes as they made their way to the castle. They were all riding on the same carriage, just like every year, and Eddie couldn’t take his eyes off of the majestic Thestral that was pulling the carriage. The first time he had seen one, he nearly had a heart attack, since he had soon noticed that no one of his friends could see it. Ben, who was probably the most cultured person Eddie knew, explained that only who had seen someone die could see those creatures._

_“It’s not cheeky unless you’re a perverted dumbass.” Stan had replied, adjusting the pin on his robes and tilting his chin up. “Besides, you better watch your mouth. I could give you detention.”_

_“Aww, Staniel, you’d never.”_

_“Try me, Trashmouth.” Stan glared at him, and Richie grinned._

_“Is this foreplay, Head boy?” Richie teased, and Beverly elbowed his ribs, trying her best not to laugh._

_“What Richie has been trying to say, is that we’re all very proud of you, Stan, aren’t we, guys?” She said, looking between them with her eyebrows raised. The group nodded and every one of them congratulated with Stan, because hell, their friend had been chosen as Head Boy and they were really fucking proud. That was also why Stan had disappeared for half of the trip to Hogwarts. The Head boy and the Head girl were required to instruct the Prefects of their duties on the Hogwarts’ Express, in the Prefect’s carriage._

_“That’s not what I was trying to say!” Richie protested, “I was suggesting that ‘Head boy’ sounds just like something you’d call the kid who blows other dudes in the bathrooms.”_

_“We know what you were suggesting, Rich, you’re not nearly as subtle and sneaky as you think you are.” Eddie said, rolling his eyes and  glancing at the taller boy. “Would you knot your tie already? We’re almost there.”_

_Richie shrugged, looking down at the loose tie that was hanging off his shoulders. “I hate this thing. It’s like I’m constantly being chocked, which would be nice if I was in bed with your mom, not if I have to run up and down the staircases of the castle all fucking day.”_

_“You’re so gross, Rich, and you need to stop talking about my  mom like that.” Eddie scolded, slapping the back of Richie’s head, and Richie laughed and wrapped his arm around Eddie’s shoulder._

_“I would, but where would the fun be in that?” Eddie tried to squirm away from Richie, but the boy only held tighter, looking at him with a toothy grin._

_“You’re not funny anyway, so you might as well stop.” Eddie protested, sighing loudly and giving up trying to get away from Richie. “When was the last time you showered, anyway? You smell like dirty underwear.” Which was a blatant lie, because Richie smelled amazing. Eddie didn’t even know how it was possible. He felt his cheeks warming up and grimaced, while Richie giggled._

_“That’s because I have your mom’s panties in my pocket.” The boy replied, and the whole group groaned in disgust._

_“That’s it, Richie, you’re not allowed to say another word for the rest of the day.” Mike said, shaking his head._

“We should get going.” Mike said, stretching and wiping his mouth with a napkin. The curfew on the first day wasn’t as strict as always, but they had classes in the first morning anyway. Eddie took the last sip of pumpkin juice and agreed with his friend, and they both stood up. He couldn’t wait to see their common room again and sleep in his bed, which was, luckily, just next to Mike’s.   
That was actually how they became friends. They didn’t met after the Sorting Ceremony, but that very night, when they were both in bed, staring at the ceiling, too excited to fall asleep.

“Have you thought about the fact that this is our last year?” Eddie asked him as they walked toward the kitchens, which were right next to the door to their common room. “It’s fucking insane. Seven years, Mike. We’re almost finished.”

“Don’t think about that, Eddie. It’s our last year, yes, but we’ve made to this point and that’s fucking remarkable.” Mike shoved his hands in the pockets of his robes and Eddie looked up at him, pressing his lips together in a thin line. “Plus, just think about all the things we’ll be able to do once we’re finished here.”

That was only partially true. At least, it was partially true for Eddie. Mike had his future already figured out: he wanted to be a professional Quidditch player, and everyone knew he was going to make it, but Eddie didn’t have a clue of what he was going to do once he was done at Hogwarts. The mere thought of ending up being trapped forever with his mother smothering him, was enough to send cold chills down his spine.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He sighed, trying to sound not as worried as he was.

  

* * *

 

“Welcome back to this class, students.” Professor Keene greeted, and Eddie wondered if it was normal to feel sick in the stomach as the professor walked between the students desks. “If you’re sitting in this room, it means that you’ve made it this far at Hogwarts.”

“No shit, really?” Richie whispered in Eddie’s ear, and Eddie had to cover his mouth with both of his hands because he had just snorted. The professor didn’t hear him, or, at least, pretended not to.

“You must be an example of protocol and discipline for the younger students, because they will look up to you. No more time for jokes this year, I’m afraid.” He said, not so subtly looking in Richie’s direction and squinting his little eyes when the boy grinned at him. “You will also be required to sit the N.E.W.T. at the end of the year, which, for those who don’t know, is the most important exam you’ll ever give in your entire life.” He said, sitting down at his desk (which was covered with a dark cloth under which something was clearly boiling) and looking at the lot of students in front of him.

Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had Potions and Defens against the Dark Arts together this year, and Eddie was pretty content with it. He shared Herbology, Astronomy and Charms with Gryffindors and History of Magic and Transfiguration with Ravenclaws. At the end, he was always in the same room with one of his friends.

“If you fail the N.E.W.T., you’ll have to repeat the year.” Keene warned, adjusting his thin glasses while scanning the room. “This isn’t a game, your future depends on your present actions, so be responsible.”

Eddie had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. He was tapping his fingers on the desk, while Richie groaned and slammed his head down on the book in front of him. “Wake me up when grandpa is done when his rebuke.” Richie said, keeping his eyes shut, and Eddie shook his head with an amused smile on his lips.

“Now, I think we should get started with our lesson, shouldn’t we?” Keene announced, clapping his hands once.   
Eddie sighed in relief and sat up straighter. He liked potions. He liked how there was always new combinations to discover, new ways to cure illnesses. It wasn’t always easy (he had actually burned his eyebrows back in his second year while he was trying to prepare a Swelling Solution), but it was definitely worth it.

Yes, potions was probably his favorite subject.

“During your final exam, you’ll be required to produce the most difficult kind of potions that the scholar educations expects you to be able to make. For example,” he stood up and, with a flick of his wand, he removed the cloth that was covering his desk. There were five different cauldrons displaying in front of them, and Eddie elbowed Richie’s side to make his friend pay attention. “There are five different potions here. Gather around me and the first student that will identify them correctly, based on the ingredients, the smell and the color, will earn 30 points.”

That was the motivation the class needed, since, in the blink of an eye, fifteen students were gathered around the professor’ desk, elbowing and shouldering each other.

“Any ideas?” Richie asked Eddie, rubbing the back of his neck.

If Eddie loved potions, Richie really bloody hated it.

“Give me a second.” Eddie muttered, as he examined the cauldrons. Beverly and Mike joined them, and they were all pretty clueless.

Eddie squinted his eyes and inhaled deeply. He was pretty sure that one of the potions was Polyjuice. The clear liquid in the second cauldron was Felix Felicis, and Eddie was fairly sure about that, just as he was sure that there were a Shrinking Solution and a Hiccoughing Solution as well. The one that left him uncertain. Eddie could smell fresh parchment, mint, coffee grains and firewhiskey all at the same time, but Bev was saying how nice that smell of chocolate was. And Eddie was positive he didn’t smell chocolate and paper.

“Time!” Keene announced, and Eddie raised his hand, because what was the harm in giving it a try?

“Kaspbrak, yes. Any idea?”

Eddie bit his lower lip and pointed at the cauldron in front of him. “This is Polyjuice. That one Felix Felicis. Then we have Hiccoughing and Shrinking Solutions.” The professor nodded with a pleased smile, before pointing at the last cauldron.

“What about this one?”

Eddie shook his head, looking at it and then up at the professor. “I don’t know. It smells… good.” The professor laughed and Eddie frowned, because, if he said something funny, he didn’t notice.

“I’m sure it does. This is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the entire world.” Keene explained, and Eddie felt himself blushing. “Whoever stands near it will smell the scent of the person they’re in love with.” That made a lot of girls giggle and many boys rub the back of their necks awkwardly. “You didn’t recognized them all, but you deserve twenty points.” He said, and Eddie forced a smile.

Parchment, mint, coffee grains and firewhiskey.

He bit his lower lip, staring at it, until the professor covered the cauldrons once again.

“Please, return to your seats and open your books at page 27.”

 

* * *

 

  
“You did amazing, Eddie! Twenty points on our first day!” Mike exclaimed happily, shaking his shoulder. Eddie grinned and shrugged casually. They had just left the class, and they were walking down a corridor filled with moving portraits.

“It was easy.” He replied simply.

“Don’t play innocent, Eds, now you gotta tell us what you smelled in the Amortentia.” Richie jumped at him, wrapping his long arms around the smaller boy’s torso as they walked.

“What do you care, Richie?” Eddie rolled his eyes, without noticing how Beverly and Mike exchanged a look.

“Hey, I’m your best friend, I have all the right to know what your little crush smells like.”

“Bill’s my best friend.”

“Just tell me!” The taller boy protested, stepping in front of him and walking backwards.

“Leave me alone, Richie, oh my god.”

“Why? What did you smell, Rich?” Beverly asked, wiggling his eyebrows at him.

“Eddie’s mom’ underwear, of course.” Richie said with a grin, and Eddie tripped him.

Richie, who really didn’t need any help to trip over random things in the first place, waved his arms in a useless attempt to steady himself and fell right into a vase, breaking the trunk of the innocent plant in it. Eddie, Mike and Beverly started laughing so much they had tears in their eyes, while Richie glared at them.

“Tozier!”  Mr Lee (their History of Magic’ professor) scolded, as he was passing by. “Get out of that vase and start acting like an adult.” He exclaimed, glaring at the lanky boy.

“Sorry, sir, I thought that diving in this vase would have been a fun thing to do on this fine day!” Richie said loudly, dripping sarcasm.

“Apology accepted.” Lee replied, smirking, as he walked away.

They were all still giggling around Richie, and the boy looked up at Eddie with an amused smile.

“I hate you, Kaspbrak.”

 

* * *

 

 

Eddie was sitting at dinner, listening as Georgie told them about his first day, when it happened.

He looked up to refill his glass.

And Eddie wished he didn’t.

Richie, sitting at his table, was resting his head against his hand, and he was smiling widely at the girl sitting next to him.

And the girl sitting next to him wasn’t Beverly.

She had blond, wavy hair and she was playing with it, curling a lock around her index and giggling at something Richie had just said. He was pretty sure that girl’s name was Greta Bowie.

He had never talked to Greta Bowie in his entire life, but he immediately disliked her. For no reason whatsoever.

Richie was laughing brightly, and Greta was blushing. Richie said something else, and Greta leaned a little closer, batting her lashes. Richie raised his eyebrows with a smirk, and Greta flipped her blond hair back.

“What are you looking at?” Mike asked, and Eddie blushed furiously.

“Uhm? Nothing. I… I was distracted.” He said, but he couldn’t ignore the discomfort feeling that was knotting his stomach.

When he looked up again, a few minutes later, Richie and Greta were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but it's for the pLOT


	3. Chapter Three

_Eddie…_

The boy was buried under two duvets, only half asleep. He could hear Mike’s soft snores from the bed next to his, he couldn’t see anything but the dim light of the fireplace projecting under the door.

_Eddie?_

He frowned sleepily, propping himself up on his elbow and glancing at Mike’s sleeping figure. He could hear the wind blowing outside, the muffled clattering from the kitchens. Maybe the elves were already up cooking breakfast? He couldn’t tell what time it was. It could have been midnight or 4am.

_Eddie!_

“Richie?” He murmured, rubbing his left eye and blinking slowly, trying to spot his friend’ figure in the room. “Where are you, dipshit?” He whispered, trying not to wake Mike up.

_Eddie, come with me._

Eddie sighed and ran a hand through his the mess of his bed hair, then yawned sleepily. Of course Richie was  out of his dorm past bedtime. There was something in that boy that made him hate any rule quite passionately. If there was a rule that said that students couldn’t skinny dip into the Black Lake in December, Richie would have stripped down and splashed around catching pneumonia just for the sake of it.

“What is it, ‘Chee?” He mumbled, squinting his eyes. “Where are you?” He pushed the covers off of himself and climbed down his bed. “I swear, Richie, if this is some of your silly…” The voice died in his throat as the door creaked open. The room filled with the warm light of the fireplace in the common room, but he couldn’t see Richie anywhere. There were the five beds of his roommates, their sleeping sounds and shifting filling the room, but Richie was nowhere to be seen. “Richie?” He tried, but his voice sounded much less confident now. He made the first step slowly, swallowing hard. “This is not funny, you jackass.” He said, walking toward the open door that brought to the common room. There wasn’t anyone up, the whole room was empty, apart from the ghost that was sitting next to the fire.

“Did you see a boy around here? He’s… tall, and kinda looks like an asshole.” Eddie asked the ghost, rubbing the back of his neck. The Fat Friar looked up at him with a frown.

“No one’s around here, kid. Go back to bed.” He said, shrugging.

Eddie sighed and took another look around, before he padded back to his bed, shutting the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

“You shouldn’t worry so much, Bill. You’ve been a first year too, it wasn’t that bad.” Stan said as he was sipping on his tea. He glanced at the boy sitting next to him, that was looking over at the Ravenclaw’ table, where Georgie was currently sitting, surrounded by chattering boys and girls. “He’s making friends, it’s good.” Stan added, and Bill turned to look at him. Both of them were already dressed up for class in their houses’ colors, but Bill had Quidditch practice that morning so he was clutching onto his broomstick as if his life depended on it.

“If Silver could talk, she’d tell you that you’re chocking her.” Stan said, raising his eyebrows, once he’d noticed how white his friend’s knuckles were while he was gripping it.

“She’s fuh-fuh-fine.” Bill replied stiffly. Silver had seen worst, anyway. Like that time Bill’s mother, positive it was just a broom, started sweeping the floor with it, breaking a few bristles off. Bill had screamed and tore the broomstick out of his mother’s hands, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“If you say so. But you really should stop worrying so much, Billy. Georgie’s not a toddler anymore.” Stan said, dipping a ginger biscuit in his tea. “And you should eat something, too.” He sighed, filling Bill’s glass with pumpkin juice and putting a blueberry muffin in his plate. “Come on, for me?” Stan said with a little smile on his lips, and with that, Bill finally tore his gaze away from his brother and turned to look at his friend, matching the smile that was curving Stan’s lips.

“Hey guys.” Eddie flopped down across from them at the Gryffindor’ table, yawning and without noticing how both of his friends had blushed. “Remind me that I have to kill Richie today.” He said, cutting himself a slice of Treacle Tart. After that little encounter with the ghost and Richie’s prank, Eddie hadn’t been able to fall back asleep and, as it turned out, it was 2am, so he had spent two hours staring at the ceiling before he decided he had had enough and padded to the common room and sat down at a table to move forward with his work.

They had been back at Hogwarts for almost two weeks now, and the professors seemed to think that the N.E.W.T.S. were way closer than they actually were, since they had started to fill them up with homework.

“What did he do this time?” Stan asked, rolling his eyes. “Do you want me to give him detention? Because I could. And I would.”

Eddie giggled and shoved a spoonful of cake into his mouth. “I’m tempted.” He said, once he had swallowed it. “He showed up at my dorm in the middle of the night, it was like 2am. He woke me up and when I followed him in the common room he was gone. Just like that.” He explained.

“Are you suh-suh-sure it w-was him?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t recognize Richie’s voice? I think I couldn’t forget that annoying noise even after an Oblivate spell.” Stan snorted, Bill giggled, and Beverly flopped down next to Eddie, alongside with Ben.

“Hey guys, what are we laughing at?” The Ravenclaw’s beater asked, filling up Beverly’s glass before his own and earning a kiss on the cheek by a very beaming red head.

“Richie’s obnoxious self.” Stan said easily, smiling as he passed the butter bread to Bill. “Apparently he pranked Eddie last night.”

Beverly frowned and then raised her eyebrows. “Really? What did he do?” She asked, and Eddie explained again what had happened. “It wasn’t Richie.” She decided, after a moment of silence.

“What do you mean it wasn’t Richie?” Eddie frowned, stopping his glass halfway to his mouth.

“I mean that it wasn’t Richie. It couldn’t have been.  He sneaked into the girl’s dorm last night. He was with me.” Ben looked at her with a mixture of hurt and surprise on his face and Bev cleared her throat. “We do it a lot. Sneaking into each other’s rooms. We eat junk food and talk. What’s so weird about that?” She added quickly, and Ben relaxed by her side. “Anyway, he came to my room with a pack of every flavor beans. It was midnight, and we spent hours together. It couldn’t have been him, because he was with me.” She concluded, and Eddie stared at his plate.

It was Richie’s voice. It was. He couldn’t mistake it with any other.

“Muh-muh-maybe you w-were sleepy and yuh-you didn’t recognize it.” Bill tried to reason, but Eddie shook his head. No, he wasn’t mistaking, it was Richie’s voice. “Wuh-wuh-were’s Mike, anyway? We’re puh-puh-puh-practicing with Hufflepuffs today.”

“He wanted to shower before breakfast.” Eddie replied absently, glancing up at the door, just in time to see Richie walking in the Great Hall. His tie was knotted loosely and his hair was just as wild as usual. Eddie wondered if it had ever seen a comb.

Greta Bowie walked in right after Richie and they glanced at each other before heading towards their respective group of friends, and Eddie couldn’t help but wonder if they were together.

Since that first night he had seen them talking so close to each other, Eddie had been wondering, anytime Richie wasn’t around, if he was with her. He never asked Beverly, of course, nor Richie himself, but he just couldn’t brush that feeling off of him. He didn’t like Greta, so he didn’t like Richie and Greta messing around together. It was just wrong, and the mere sight of the two of them giggling and sharing looks was enough to put Eddie in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

No need to say, he had been in a bad mood for two weeks now.

“Good morning, my fair people!” The lanky boy said cheerfully, ruffling Eddie’s hair before sitting down next to him and stealing a bite of his slice of tart.

“Hey! Get your own!” Eddie protested, swatting Richie’s hands away.

“Sharing is caring, Eds, don’t be greedy.” He grinned, and Eddie shouldered him, huffing.

“Were you in Eddie’s dorm last night?” Stan cut in, rolling his eyes.

“Sure, in his bed, between his legs.” Richie laughed, and Eddie flushed red.

“In your dreams.” He muttered, and Richie only laughed louder.

“Seriously, Rich, were you? Eddie said you were there and you woke him up.” Stan added, sighing. Richie ran a hand through his wild curls and winded an arm around Eddie’s shoulders.

“Let me think…” He pondered, looking up for a moment. “Last night, uh? I don’t really think so. I was with Miss Marsh over there.”

“See? Told you so.” Bev shrugged, and Eddie didn’t know what to think.

“I’m sure I heard Richie’s voice…” He murmured, and Richie squeezed him to his side.

“That’s because you’re so in love with me you hear and see me everywhere.” Richie grinned, planting a big kiss on Eddie’s hair. The Hufflepuff huffed and pushed him away, standing up.

“You’re gross, and I’d rather fall in love with a banshee than fall in love with you. Now excuse me, I have to go wash my hair.” He said coldly, and left the table without another word. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Richie asked, blinking.                               

“You really don’t know?” Stan asked, looking up at him, and Richie frowned a little, clueless. Stan shook his head and stood up. “Come on Bill, I’ll walk you to the pitch.” Bill smiled up at the Ravenclaw and stood up.

“Wuh-we’ll see you l-later, guh-guys.” He said with a smile, following Stan outside.

 

* * *

 

 

_Eds?_

Eddie looked up from his book, sighing. He was in the library and he was bent over his Advanced Runes Translation volume, when he heart Richie’s voice.

This time, he wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

He shut the book closed, making the Gryffindor girl sitting next to him jump in surprise, and stood up.

_Eds, come this way._

“Fucking idiot.” Eddie muttered under his breath as he followed the voice. Richie was probably hiding behind the shelves, making fun of him, or maybe trying to scare him. “You’re going to get us both kicked us, jackass.” Eddie whispered, following the footsteps he was hearing, until the corridor became darker and darker until Eddie found himself facing the door to the Restricted Section. The door had just shut closed, which meant that Richie was inside, and Eddie was pretty sure he was going to slap him in the face.   
He had been in the restricted section just once in his life, when he was 13 and Richie decided that it would have been fun to see what kind of books were hidden in there. Eddie had agreed, because God knows what he was thinking, and followed the other teen.

They ended up being caught, losing 50 points each and Keene had sent both their families a notification.

_“What’s that?” Ben asked that day at breakfast.  Eddie was holding a red envelope between his shaky hands, and he was staring at the wax seal as if it was about to eat him alive._

_“Holy shit.” Richie laughed, leaning closer to have a look, and Eddie glared at him because honestly, that was all his fault.  “That’s a howler!”_

_“What’s a howler?” Ben, who was a muggleborn and never received one in his entire life, asked his friends._

_“It’s a letter which enchants the message into the writer’s voice, but screaming at you in a very loud voice.” Stan explained calming, giggling softly. “You know, for when your mom’s so angry she needs to let you know how displeased and disappointed she is.”_

_Ben raised his eyebrows and looked at Eddie, who was still staring at the warm letter in his hands. “Are you going to open it?” The boy asked, and Eddie bit his lower lip._

_“Come on, Eds!” Richie prompted, “you know it’ll explode if you ignore it.” He giggled and Beverly elbowed him._

_Eddie sighed and broke the seal, getting ready for whatever it was coming. The letter trembled in his hands and then flew in front of his face, the  paper bending in a way that resembled his mother’s mouth._

_“Edward Kaspbrak!” It yelled in his mom’s voice, and any student that was nearby turned to enjoy the show. Howlers were always great fun for those who hadn’t received it. “I’ve never been more disappointed in your behavior in my entire life! Breaking the rules! Like you’re some rascal with no manners!” Eddie stared at it with wide eyes as it yelled at him, but he could hear laughter all around him from his schoolmates. “I told you to stay away from that Tozier boy! He’s a bad influence on you, and now you’re breaking the rules with him!? I’m not raising a criminal!” Eddie glanced up, and Richie was smirking smugly, winking at him. Eddie glared at him , but he couldn’t help the smallest of the smiles to curve his lips. “I am disgusted! Disgusted! This is not how I expect my little boy to behave. You promised to be a good boy! You better start behaving properly, Edward!” It yelled, and then exploded right in front of him._

_There were a couple of seconds of total silence._

_“See, that’s the pro of having parents who don’t give a fuck about you.” Richie said, picking a piece of burnt paper up and examining it with a grin. “I’ve never received a Howler in my entire life.”_

“Richie? What the hell are you doing?” He opened the door slowly, ducking his head inside.

_Eds, come on…_

“You’re such an idiot, Richie. Where the fuck are you hiding?” He walked inside, balling his hands into fists. “I don’t want to get another Howler because of you, dipshit.”

“Eddie.”

This time, the voice was so close, so different from how it had been before, that it froze the blood in Eddie’s veins. He could feel something cold leaking on his shoulder, but he was paralyzed. This section of the library was extremely dark. All the lanterns were off, and the only source of lighting came from the dim light of the sunset.

“R-Richie… This is not funny…” He whispered, his voice shaky and his eyes fixed on the shelf in front of him.

“Do you want me to blow you, Eddie?”

Eddie’s eyes filled up with burning tears as he finally had the courage to turn.

In front of him, towering on him, was Richie.

No, it wasn’t Richie. It couldn’t have been Richie.

It looked like Richie, in some way. The thing was similar to Richie, because it had his curly hair, even though it was sticky with dirt and blood and mud. It even had his glasses, but they were cracked and crooked on his nose. Or well, where his nose was supposed to be. In the middle of the thing’s face, there was a bloody, putrid hole that was leaking mucus.

Eddie gagged.

The thing’s lips were purple and chapped and lumpy, and the eyes behind the glasses were bloodshot and excessively blown wide.

“Dontcha want a blowjob, Eddie?”

The thing asked again, and Eddie walked backwards so quickly he found his back shoved against the shelf. He stared at it in horror, with tears streaming down his cheeks, until the thing tried to grasp the front of his robes in his dirty hand and Eddie started running, crying for help.

He yanked the door open and stumbled in the rope that signed the entry of the Restricted Section, falling on his face.

“Eddie?” He felt two hands on him and he cried out, squirming away.

“Do not fucking touch me!” He yelled.

“Eddie, it’s me! Calm down!” When he finally looked up, he saw Ben’s kind features tensed up in worry. “What happened? What’s in there?” He asked worriedly.

Eddie felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“Where’s… Where’s Richie?” He chocked on his own breath.

“I don’t know, why? What happened? Did he do this?” Eddie didn’t know what to say. He was breathing heavily and he felt like he needed his inhaler. He turned his head to look at the door, but nothing was coming out of it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm updating so soon because I have to give an exam on Monday, so I don't think I'll be able to write for a couple of days.   
> I wanted to thank whoever is leaving kudos and comments or who's simply reading this story, it means a fucking lot.   
> Any comment is appreciated, they're what keep me motivated:) 
> 
> As you can see I've changed the rating because there'll be vivid descriptions of spooky/gross things, and that's something anyone wants to read.   
> You've been warned!  
> We're now getting into the real story, which I'm pretty excited for! I really hope you're enjoying this.   
> Stay tuned for more!


	4. Chapter Four

“And then what happened?” Richie’s voice was soft, much more softer than usual.

Eddie knew that Richard Tozier had three different voices.

There was his normal voice, which was obnoxiously loud and cheerful.   
When Eddie had met Richie, the boy was talking with his normal voice, and Eddie got a headache.   
There also were Richie’s voices, which Eddie considered as one, because they all sounded pretty much the same. His Mexican accent wasn’t that different from the Spanish one, just like the British man he played acted very similarly to the French one.  
Then, there was Richie’s soft voice, which was, of course, Eddie’s favorite. It was special and, Eddie liked to think, reserved for him. Beverly and him, maybe, but mainly him. Richie would use his soft voice when he was sad, or vulnerable, or when he was sharing something important about himself.

“I told you…” Eddie murmured, burying his nose in the duvet that was covering them both. “I ran away. It was really fucking scary, ‘Chee. It looked like you, but… It was a walking infection. I thought I was going to catch something just by breathing next to that thing.” Richie’s fingers were drawing patterns on his shoulder, and that gentle brush of skin was calming him down. “I’m not making this up, I promise.” Eddie swore, looking up to meet Richie’s gaze.

Eddie’s dorm was currently empty. Everyone was at dinner, but Eddie didn’t really feel like eating. After Ben had walked him back to his dorm, he had curled up in silence until he had heard the door creaking open. Richie, without saying a world, had climbed on his bed and laid down next to him, winding an arm around his waist.  It wasn’t strange for them. They had slept in the same bed before, without ever really talking about it. Usually it was Richie the one who sneaked in Eddie’s dorm, because the dungeons were way too dark and creepy at night to even consider walking down there. Mike, who slept in the bed next to Eddie’s, didn’t ask any questions as well. It worked fine that way, and Eddie slept so much better when Richie was sleeping next to him.  
  
They were facing each other, and Richie was looking down at him without the slightest hint of judgment on his features, which Eddie was insanely grateful for.

“I know you aren’t, silly.” Richie reassured him, stroking his thumb against Eddie’s shoulder. “But it wasn’t real, okay? I’m not a walking infection. Not  _that_  infecting, anyway.”

Eddie giggled and nudged Richie’s chest, shaking his head. “Stupid.”

“Whatever it was, Eds, it’s gone. You said it yourself, didn’t you? It didn’t follow you.” Richie pointed out, and Eddie sighed.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t come back.” Eddie bit his lip, glancing up at Richie.

“I won’t let it touch you.”

Eddie looked at his friend and felt something flutter in his stomach. Richie’s was looking at him with such sincere, loving eyes, that Eddie’s heart skipped a beat. Richie’s eyes were big and warm behind his glasses. Eddie thought it looked like someone had poured chocolate in his irises. He wanted to reach up and brush the stray curl that was falling on Richie’s forehead away.

He didn’t.

“Promise?” He whispered, and Richie shifted closer, pressing his forehead against Eddie’s. He remained silent four a couple of seconds, looking straight into Eddie’s eyes.

“Promise.”

* * *

There was someone talking. 

There was someone talking and Eddie didn’t  like it one bit, because he was tired and he just wanted to stay in bed all day, sleep through his classes and maybe steal something from the kitchens once he was going to get hungry.   
It was not too much to ask for, right?  
But someone was talking and Eddie wrinkled his nose in his, holding tighter onto his pillow and making a sleepy noise.

“Seriously, Eds. As much I enjoy having you all over me, I’ve got to be in class in ten.”

Shit.

Eddie’s eyes were wide open in a second.   
His head was pillowed on Richie’s chest, his arm was winded around the taller boy’s torso and their legs were tangled together.

“Fuck…” He whispered, and Richie laughed. “What time is it?”

“It’s time to get up, sleeping beauty. We’ve missed breakfast.” Eddie groaned and rolled to his side, lying flat next to his friend and hiding his face in the mattress to cover his blush.

“We skipped dinner too. I’m fucking starving.” Eddie whined, and Richie ruffled his hair before he got up. Eddie immediately missed the warmth of his body next to him. Suddenly, his XL twin bed seemed far too big for just one person. He turned his head and watched as Richie fixed his clothes, because they fell asleep wearing their shirts and trousers.

Richie was clearly more awake than he was, and Eddie wondered how long had he been awake, looking at him. He followed his moves as he knotted his tie. He had expected Richie to struggle with it, as he could count on the fingers of a hand the times he had actually seen his friend with his tie properly knotted around his neck, but all it took him were a couple of swift movements and he was done. Richie’s bed hair was a mess, and Eddie thought it suited him. “I’m sorry I made you late.” Eddie said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

“No worries, Spaghetti. It was worth it.” Richie winked and grabbed his bag from the floor. “I’ll see you later.” He blew him a kiss and Eddie moved to his right, pretending to avoid it, which made Richie laugh as he walked out of the Hufflepuff’ dormitory. Once he was left alone, he bit his lower lip and the smallest smile tugged his lips.

“Get yourself together, Kaspbrak…” He whispered to himself, feeling his cheeks still heated up and knowing that if he leaned down, he could have smelled Richie’s shampoo on his pillow.

He didn’t.

* * *

 “How about you talk to the Headmaster about what happened? Or, I mean, a teacher?” Stan whispered while they were sitting in their History of Magic class.

“Stan’s right.” Ben said from his left. “Whatever was in there, it scared the shit out of you. It’s dangerous, Eddie. What if it comes out?” He reasoned, and Eddie’s hand tightened on his quill. He had A History of Magic opened in front of him, and he desperately wanted to take notes and pay attention, but his mind was simply elsewhere. Plus, his friends weren’t helping at all.

“I can’t tell a teacher or the Headmaster.” Eddie replied, keeping his voice down. “I was in the restricted section of the library. It’s forbidden to go in there without permission, and I don’t want to get detention, nor to make my house lose points. It’s our last year, I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“But…” Ben tried, but Eddie shushed him when the professor looked in their direction.

“Maybe I just imagined it, alright? Maybe I was just conditioned by the place. The restricted section is fucking scary.” He said when the professor turned his back. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore, okay?”

Stan and Ben sighed at the same time, and Eddie’s lips pressed in a thin line.

“You weren’t at breakfast. Nor at dinner.” Ben said after a couple of minutes. Eddie knew what he was implying, and it only made everything worst.

“Yeah, I know. I… slept in.”

“Richie wasn’t either.” Stan added, and Eddie felt himself blushing.

“What is this? A fucking interrogatory?” He snapped, and the teacher turned towards them.

“Kaspbrak, Uris, Hanscom. Anything you’d like to share with us?”

The three of them shook their heads at the same time, and with that, they didn’t say another word for the rest of the lecture.

He decided that, if he wanted to get through the rest of the day, he  _needed_ to eat something. He didn’t notice how hungry he was until he was climbing up the stairs and his head started spinning.   
Lunch. He needed to eat something for lunch.   
Eddie turned on his heels and, instead of going to the library like he had planned, walked back to the Great Hall. He didn’t have any class until 3pm, so he had planned to spend the early afternoon studying, but he actually felt like his stomach had started to digest itself.   
The Great Hall wasn’t particularly busy. He sat down at his table and filled his plate, opening a text book next to him and reading it while he chewed. He almost forgot about everything else around him, until he heard a high pitched laugh that disturbed his quiet. He looked up and, sitting at the Slytherin table, were Richie and Greta.

Well, Richie was sitting at the table. Greta was in his lap.

She was laughing and winding her arms around Richie’s neck, tossing her hair back and adjusting Richie’s glasses with her long, pink polished nails.

Eddie couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other, but he was sure it was probably something stupid and boring and that Richie was only pretending to smile to be polite.

He kept his gaze fixed on them, his lips pressed in a thin line and held his fork so tight he could have killed the steak in his plate twice.   
Of course, Richie was free to do whatever he wanted. He was free to let anyone sit in his lap, Eddie reasoned. Richie was single and didn’t give a fuck, so he was free to do whatever the hell he wanted.   
And yet, something inside of Eddie stirred.   
The sight of the two of them playing love birds in front of everyone made him want to puke right on their faces. Did Greta knew that the guy she was sitting on had spent the night in his bed?   
Eddie wanted to tell her so bad. He wanted to stand up, tug at her stupid, perfect hair, and tell her that he had been sitting on that lap as well before and that Richie slept in his bed that night, not hers.

Where they even together? Why didn’t Richie tell him about her? They were friends. Friends were supposed to talk to each other about private stuff. And what Eddie was witnessing seemed pretty private.

Greta laughed again, and Richie giggled, and Eddie let go of his fork because he felt nauseous.

“What are you staring at?” Eddie jumped when Stan flopped next to him.

Caught with his hands in the marmalade. Brilliant.

“Nothing.” He said quickly. Maybe too quickly. Stanley raised his eyebrows and followed his gaze, smirking when he saw Richie and Greta. Why was he smiling? Did he knew something? Did Richie tell him about Greta? Was there something to talk about, then?

“Ah, I see.” He said, glancing at him with an amused smile on his lips.

“There’s nothing to see. This is a free country and Richie’s free to do whatever he wants. He wants to let a random girl sit in his lap?  _Fine_. It’s perfectly fine. Pretty disgusting, if we’re talking about public displays of affection, but fine.” He hissed, downing what was left in his glass. Stan, on his right, started laughing.

“That was… a lot.” He said, rolling his eyes. “Are you jealous?” He asked, lowering his voice, and Eddie’s eyes widened in an almost comical way.

“What?  _Jealous_? Of what?  _Richie_? That makes no sense! I’ve never… what?” He started laughing, almost hysterically, and his cheeks heated up. “I… No. I’m not jealous.” He said, lowering his gaze to his plate and staring at it. Stan stared at him without saying a word for a few seconds, and Eddie bit his lower lip.

“Slow down, Eddie.” He said, shouldering him lightly. He was about to say something else, when Bill ran into the Great Hall with such a pale face Eddie thought he was about to die. He stood right up and met him halfway, putting his hands on Bill’s shoulders.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Eddie asked his best friend, and he shook his head. Bill tried to talk, but his stutter was so bad he didn’t even manage to let out a sound. “Billy, breathe, in and out.” He instructed, and suddenly Stan and Richie were around them.

“Billiam, shit man, what happened to you?” Richie frowned and Stan glared at him as hee soothed Bill’s back with his hand.

“Take your time, Bill. Tell us what happened.” He said as calmly as possible. Bill looked at him and his eyes were red and puffy.

“G-G-Georgie…” He stuttered, breathing heavily.

“What about him?”

“He’s… He’s…” He tried, and Richie grabbed his wrist.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet.” He decided, tugging Bill behind him.

“Rich!” Greta called, slightly annoyed, but Richie didn’t turn to look at her. Despite being extremely worried about his best friend, Eddie couldn’t help feeling a bit smug about it.

They walked him back to the Gryffindor dorm. Bill stuttered the password to get in the common room and they made him sit down in front of the fireplace, gathering around him and waiting for him to be calmed down enough to talk. Eddie was holding his hand, Stan was rubbing his back and Richie took out of his bag his flask of firewhiskey. Eddie looked over at him, as if he was saying “Really, Rich?” but the Slytherin winked and Eddie didn’t feel like arguing anymore.

“Here, drink this.” He said, kneeling in front of them and handing him the flask. Bill did as he was told, taking a long sip. He coughed, Richie giggle.

“Uh-alright.” Bill breathed, giving them a small nod. “I was in the buh-buh-bathroom  and when I tuh-turned to was m-my hands Georgie was duh-there. He was b-bleeding out and suh-suh-suddenly he wasn’t b-breathing anymore.” He said, and the three of them stared at him with wide, horrified eyes.

“Oh my god, is he…” Eddie tried, but Bill shook his head.

“Wuh-when I ru-rushed over, he stood up. He w-was puh-pale and his clothes were suh-suh-soaked in blood and he luh-looked like he w-wanted to huh-hurt me.”

“What the fuck?” Richie was staring at bill with his eyebrows drawn closer and an almost shocked expression.

“I duh-don’t know. His teeth were ruh-rotten, there were muh-muh-maggots on his face. It wuh-wuh-wasn’t Georgie.”

“Of course not, Billy.” Stan reassured him, moving his hand down to take hold of the one that Eddie wasn’t already holding. For some reason, he felt like he had to let go of his best friend and give Stan some space. “It wasn’t Georgie. He’s in class now, just like he should be, and he’s fine.” He said matter of factly, looking straight into Bill’s eyes.

Eddie was startled. Could it have been the same thing that attacked him in the restricted section? Because he was sure he had seen someone that looked like Richie, though, not Georgie. Hell, there was some hell of a difference over there.

Richie seemed to hear his thoughts, because he stood up and pulled Eddie on his feet as well, tugging him next to a thick, red curtain. “You think…?” He said in a low voice. Eddie didn’t even know Richie could talk so lowly.

“I don’t know.” He replied, shaking his head and looking down at his feet. “I don’t know, ‘Chee. I don’t know what the hell is going on.” He breathed, and suddenly one of Richie’s arms were around him and it was pulling him closer. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek against Richie’s chest, holding the Slytherin’ robes in his hand and biting his lower lip as he let the sound of Richie’s heartbeat calm him down.

“We’ll find out.” The taller boy said. Eddie didn’t know if he wanted to find out. He wanted to forget about what he had seen and he wanted his friends to be safe as well. He didn’t want to find out, because he didn’t want to believe there was actually something to be looking for. “Don’t be scared.”

“I’m not scared.” He said quickly, and he felt Richie smiling between his hair.

“Alright, Eds.”

When Eddie opened his eyes again, Stan and Bill were hugging in front of the fireplace and Stan was whispering something. The sight made him smile and press a little closer against his tall, dumb, annoying, amazing friend.

“Chee?” He said, without pulling away. Richie hummed, prompting him to go on. He wanted to ask him about Greta. He wanted to know why he was holding him so close. He wanted to tell him that he didn’t like seeing them together. He wanted to tell him that Greta wasn’t right for him, that she couldn’t love him in the right way. “Nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so freaking much for all the comments and the kudos and the hits!!!   
> Any feedback is always sooooo welcome, it keeps me motivated :) 
> 
> (If you hate Greta and you know it clap your hands :D)


	5. Chapter Five

 

“Alright, my turn.” Bev announced, refilling their glasses with the firewhiskey she had stolen from the kitchens. “Never have I ever kissed someone without meaning it.” She announced, glancing around the room and smirking when she saw Richie raising his glass. “How surprising.” She teased as Richie flipped her off while downing his shot.

Eddie hugged his legs to his chest and rolled his eyes, hiding his chin behind his knees. They were all currently sitting in the Hufflepuff common room, which was, for some reason, their favorite place to hang around in. The Ravenclaw tower was way too far and there were way too many stairs, the Gryffindor common room was always kinda busy, the Slytherin dungeons were way too cold for Eddie and Ben’ taste, so they always went for the warm, cozy, Hufflepuff dorm.  They were sitting in circle on the rug, next to the fireplace, and Eddie felt warm and calm. He liked it. He liked the way Beverly was sitting close to Ben, or the way Stan and Bill kept glancing at each other. He liked the way Mike was making sure no one had too much to drink and end up in trouble. He liked how Richie’s arm was casually thrown around his shoulders.

“I should be giving detention to you all. I’m an awful Head boy. We’re out of bed and we’re drinking alcohol and-“ Bill cut Stanley off by squeezing his shoulder and giggling.

“Live a little, Staniel! Nothing interesting happens when you follow the rules, and rules are meant to be broken.” Richie said loudly, so loudly that Eddie had to shush him by pressing the palm of his hand against the boy’s mouth.

“It doesn’t really work like that.” Stan said with a glare, and Richie laughed behind the hand covering his mouth. When Eddie felt Richie’s mouth opening, he looked at him with murderous eyes.

“If you do it, I’ll bite your legs off and feed them to you.” He warned. He knew Richie far too well to not know that he was about to lick his palm. “And keep your voice down.” He added, and Richie wiggled his eyebrows at him.

“I like it when you get all bossy.” He said, once Eddie had removed his hand from his face.

“It’s your turn, Richie.” Bev reminded him, and Richie nodded.

“Right, right. Let me think.” He most certainly took his time, and Eddie wondered if it was because he was actually thinking about something he hadn’t done or he had fallen asleep with his eyes wide open. “Never have I ever had a birthday party.” He said it almost carelessly, and found himself with six pairs of eyes staring at him. Now that he was thinking about it, Eddie realized that he hadn’t even ever thought about Richie’s birthday. He didn’t know when his birthday was. He didn’t even know if Richie had turned eighteen or if he was still seventeen, and felt like a dick about it.

How could he had never asked him? It was a perfectly normal, ordinary question. Friends were supposed to know when each other’ birthdays were.

“What?” Mike asked with wide eyes, staring at Richie like everyone else was.

“What?” Richie frowned, genuinely confused by the reaction of his friends.

“You never had a birthday party? Ever?” Bev insisted, and Richie shrugged, keeping his arm around Eddie’s shoulders.

Eddie didn’t think he deserved that arm around him.

“My birthday’s in August, so I’m always at home and my parents aren’t the kind of parents that throw parties for their children, so yeah.” He explained easily. Eddie looked up at Richie and he sighed. “Could you all stop looking at me like I’m some kind of abandoned puppy? I don’t care about birthdays, anyway. What’s so thrilling about getting old?”

Eddie knew that wasn’t true. Maybe Richie didn’t care about his birthday, but he most certainly cared about theirs.

_“Surpirse!” Eddie jumped and brought his hands to his chest, feeling it beating ten times faster than usual. His friends laughed and gathered all around him. “Happy birthday, Eddie!” Mike said cheerfully, wrapping his arms around his small frame and lifting him up. Eddie huffed and giggled once he was back down with his feet on the ground._

_Eddie felt like a big dumbass. He had spent all day long sulking and glaring because he genuinely thought his friends had forgotten about his 14 th birthday. He barely said a word to them and now there they were: with a pile of presents on a table, big smiles on their faces, hugging him tight. He felt like crying. _

_“Thank you guys, but… this is amazing, you didn’t have to.” He smiled widely and tears stung his eyes as he looked around the common room, which had been decorated with garlands and balloons and sweets._

_“It was Richie’s idea!” Bev yelled, pushing her best friend forward. Richie rubbed the back of his head and smiled awkwardly._

_“Really? You did this?” Eddie asked, and his heart was beating fast. “Richie…” God, he had probably been even more rude to Richie than to the others. He didn’t even know why. Bill was his best friend, he should have been upset that his best friend had forgotten about his birthday, but at lunch, that day, Richie had sat down next to him and Eddie hadn’t said as much as a word to him._

_“I had the idea, but the elves made the food.” He clarified, then gestured to the room. “And the others helped decorating the common room, so…” Eddie didn’t even let him finish: he stood on his tiptoes and wrapped his arms around Richie’s shoulders, kissing his cheek._

_“Thank you.” He said, resting his head against his friend’ shoulder. He could have sworn that someone said “aaaww”, but he was way too focused on the way Richie’s arms wrapped around him to care._

_“This is disgusting. I’m getting diabetes just by looking at this.” Stan whined, and Bill elbowed him in the ribs, chuckling._

_When Eddie pulled away, he looked up in Richie’s eyes, and noticed how Richie’ freckled cheeks had gone way more pink than usual. He desperately wanted to say something else, but then Ben pointed at his wrapped gifts._

_“Come on, Eddie, open them!”_

“Leave it, guys, it’s really not a big deal.” He said with a shrug. “I didn’t want to be the party pooper who turns down the mood, it’s just a stupid fucking game.” They all exchanged looks as they drank because, in fact, they all had had birthday parties in their lives.   
Eddie felt him stiffen by his side, but he didn’t say anything.

“Alright, my turn.” Mike said, refilling the glasses. “Never have I ever had a crush on one of my friends.” He smirked.   
Eddie never saw so many people blush at the same time. Bev and Bev smiled awkwardly, while Bill and Stan refused to look at each other altogether. Richie, being his loud self, barked out a laugh and laid down on his back.

“That’s a good one, Mikey! Look at their faces!” He said, glancing in Bill and Stan’s direction. He was probably the one who had too much to drink. His cheeks were flushed red and his eyes glassy. Eddie wondered if the blush on his cheeks had anything to do with the game.

“Shut the fuck up, Richard.” Stan hissed, and Bev laughed.

“Yeah, shut the fuck up, Richard. Come on, elbows up. Drink.” She said, challenging her best friend. Eddie raised his eyebrows and looked at Richie.

“Really? You had a crush on one of us?” He asked, blinking, and Richie sat back up, clearing his throat.

“Sure did! I’ll always have a crush on Ben. Come here, baby!” He threw himself at the boy, pressing their lips together, causing Bev to roll his eyes and anyone else to cringe and then laugh.

“Ew! Get off me, Rich!” Ben whined, pushing the Slytherin off of him. “You just raped my mouth with your mouth!”

Richie laughed loudly and sat back next to Eddie, who was rolling his eyes. “Aw, don’t pout, Eds, you’re still my favorite.”

“Don’t call me that.”

They all had to drank, anyway. Eddie felt Richie’s gaze on him as he downed his shot, and the blush on his smooth cheeks deepened.

“Billy?” They all turned to the door where a very sleepy Georgie was rubbing his eyes. “I had a nightmare…” He yawned, and Bill was quick to stand up and pick him up from the ground. After his encounter with that thing, he had gotten even more protective with his little brother. Eddie could easily understand why. The mere thought of Richie’s doppelganger, made his stomach turn. Bill had gotten more protective, and always wanted to make sure that Georgie was safe and with someone that could have helped him In times of need. Bill was sure it had been some kind of prank, maybe from someone that wanted to distract him from the  match.  


“Looks like party’s over.” Bev considered, standing up as well. “Do you want to walk me back to my dorm, Ben?” She asked, and Ben nodded almost immediately. They said goodnight and left the dorm.

Mike and Stan were collecting the empty bottles and glasses from the floor, while Eddie tried to get Richie to stand up.

“You’re too heavy!”

“That’s what I told your mom last night.” Eddie slapped his shoulder.

“You’re gross! And mean! Don’t talk about my mom like that!” Eddie groaned, and Richie laughed.

“I’m tired! Can’t I sleep here?” Richie asked, pouting like a baby as he looked up at Eddie.

“On the floor?”

“In your bed?” Eddie whished he didn’t blush. “Please?” Richie added, and Eddie sighed.

“Fine, but if you speak as much as a word about my mom again I’ll transfigure you into a toilet.” 

“Aw, Eds, if you want to sit on my face you just need to ask.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Go Mike!” Eddie yelled, clapping his hands and jumping up and down as his friend blew above their heads. It was the first match of the year, and probably every single student of the school was there. The crowd was cheering and Eddie felt overwhelmed by how familiar it felt being on the bleachers again.

It was Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor, and Eddie was having a hard time choosing a side, since  his best friend was in the opposite team.

“Bill! You’re the best! You too Mike! You’re both the best!” He corrected himself, and he clearly heard Richie snorting by his side.

“Your rooting skills suck, Eds, seriously.” He giggled, fidgeting with the hem of his scarf. Eddie was used to see Richie constantly moving, everyone was. He had probably never seen his friend completely still in his entire life, not even in his sleep. Richie was a kicker, and the first night they had spent in the same bed caused Eddie to wake up with bruises all over his legs.

“Shut up, I’m being supportive towards my friends! And don’t call me Eds.” He scolded, slapping Richie’s arm and making the taller boy laugh.

Georgie was on Eddie’s left, and he was clapping his hands and rooting for his brother, ignoring his friend’s protesting because he was supposed to be on their house’s side, not the other.

“But it’s my brother!” Georgie said, glancing up at Bill. “He’s the best! Go Billy!” He said excitedly, and Eddie couldn’t help but smile.

 “Richie!” Eddie turned his head when a high pitched voice disturbed his thoughts. Greta Bowie was holding onto Richie’s arm, looking up at him with doe-like eyes. “Why are you in the Hufflepuff section? Come on! Let’s go back to ours!” She said, tugging his arm. Eddie clenched his jaw without meaning to.

“I’m fine, sweetheart.” He said, smiling down at her, and Eddie’s stomach twisted at the pet name.

Sweetheart?

Did Richie just call Greta Bowie sweetheart? Since when Greta was Richie’s sweetheart? Or a sweetheart altogether?

“Come on, we’re having fun over there, and we all miss you.” She insisted, stroking her fingers along Richie’s sharp jaw.

Eddie hoped she would have cut herself on it.

“I’m sure you’ll survive without me, even though I know I’m irreplaceable.” She laughed and then pouted, but Richie didn’t move. “Seriously, Greta, I’ll see you later. I’m staying with Eds right now.”

As  if she hadn’t acknowledged Eddie’s presence until that point, Greta’s eyes shifted on him and expression grew immediately colder. Eddie wanted to hug Richie. He wanted to wrap himself around him and stuck is tongue out at her like any five years old would do, but he just grinned instead.

“Oh. Eddie. It’s lovely to see you.” She said, making it sound like it wasn’t lovely at all. She looked at him from head to toe. “Well, I’ll see you later then, Chee.” She said, getting on the tip of her toes and kissing Richie’s cheek.

Oh no, she didn’t.

Chee? Did she just called Richie “Chee”? His very personal nickname for him? Not even any other of their friends called Richie “Chee”. It was a thing between them and them only. She vanished in the crowd and Eddie lost it.

“Seriously? Greta fucking Bowie?!” He said, watching as Richie’s eyes widened almost comically. “Are you fucking kidding me, Richard? She’s an asshole! She’s the one who poured itching powder in Bev’s bed when we were eleven! She used to call me girly boy! Are you even serious? You let her call you Chee?” He almost yelled, feeling his breathing coming uneven as if he was about to have an asthma attack.

“Eds, cal-“

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Is this how much you care about your friends? You’re forgetting about everything that bully had done just to get into her pants? Honestly? You’re an asshole as well.” He shouldered him as he walked past him, hurrying away. He heard Richie calling his name, but he didn’t stop.

He was probably overreacting. He knew he had been harsh and rude. Richie had told her that he wanted to stay there with him, and yet he couldn’t help being mad. Not only because of the way Greta looked at him, like he was some bug, but because of the way she looked at Richie. And the way Richie didn’t do anything to make her stop touching him.

He left the pitch and walked fast back to the castle. He would have apologized to Mike and Bill afterwards, but he needed to be on his own and think.

 

* * *

 

 

Beverly was crying.

Beverly was crying and they were all petrified, because Beverly never cried. She was a rock. Their rock. Ever since their first year, Bev had never spilled as  much as a tear. At least not in front of them.

She was clutching Richie’s robes as he was kneeling next to her. “It’s okay, I’m here.” He was whispering in her hair soothing her back. Maybe Richie had already saw her crying. Maybe Bev had seen Richie crying as well.

“He was here! I saw him!” She cried, and Richie held her closer.

They all knew about Bev’s father, about how horrible he was. Beverly had moved in with her aunt when she was 15, but never told anyone apart from Richie why.

“It couldn’t have been him, Bevvy. You know it couldn’t.” Richie took her face between his hands and looked in her eyes, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. It made Eddie’s heart clutch in his chest. “You’re okay. He’s not here and you’re okay. No one can hurt you here, we won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“Richie’s right, Bev.” Ben knelt next to them. “Whatever it’s going on, we won’t let you alone.” Bev sniffed and nodded, chocking back a sob.

Soon, they were all on the floor of the Slytherin’s dungeons, holding each other, but especially, holding Beverly.

“He was right there.” She said, pointing at a corner. “I was in my room, and I heard someone calling my name. I thought it was Richie, but then the voice changed… He looked so fucking real, guys. I’m not making this up, I swear.”

“I know yuh-you aren’t. E-E-Eddie and I s-s-saw something tuh-too.”

“We should tell someone. The headmaster. I mean, someone’s scaring the students, they need to do something!” Stan said nervously with his hands twitching slightly. “Whoever is doing this, needs to stop! Needs to get reported and expelled!”

“I think Stan’s right, guys.” Mike considered. “We should tell the headmaster. First Eddie, then Bill. Now Bev. It’s like they want us one by one! I don’t honestly want to wait my turn.”

“We should totally tell.” Ben agreed, looking at Beverly with a worried expression.

“Fine.Fuh- First thing t-t-tomorrow morning.” Bill nodded, putting his hand on Stan’s to stop them from twitching nervously.

They all hummed their agreement until Ben offered to take Beverly to bed. Then, Mike said he had a paper to write. Then Bill and Stan, who wanted to go get a cup of tea. Richie stood up from the floor and took his robes off, loosened his tie and threw them both on a couch.

“Rich-“ Eddie tried, not really sure of what he was about to say. An apology? Because he hadn’t talk to Richie for five days? Because he was being completely unreasonable about the whole matter? He took a step toward him and Richie did the same.

Then, a bunch of Slytherin kids stormed in the common room, laughing and throwing easy spells at one another.

Eddie left without adding anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one took a bit longer??? I wasn't even that busy, I just didn't know how to finish it, but there you go! Inspiration came back!  
> Thank you so much for the love this story is getting, I wouldn't ever imagine it! More than 1k hits?? Lmao okay???  
> Any feedback is always welcome! Comments are what keep my motivation high!   
> Thank you, see you next chapter!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks! So I'm a bit obsessed with the whole "let's bring this characters to Hogwarts" thing, but since you're reading this I guess you're too?  
> Any kind of feedback is appreciate, it's what keeps writers alive and motivated, after all.  
> Thank you for bearing with me!  
> Come say [hi](www.tumblr.com/blog/tozier-boy.it)  
> on tumblr?


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